Physical Therapy License from New Mexico to Ohio: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Athletic Trainers Board (OTPTAT Board) - Physical Therapy Section ↗
A physical therapy license transfers from New Mexico to Ohio by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Athletic Trainers Board (OTPTAT Board) - Physical Therapy Section, verify your New Mexico license, and meet Ohio's endorsement requirements. NPTE is not retaken for a routine transfer; FSBPT's Score Transfer Service sends the existing passing score to the physical therapy section. Ohio has one exception: under OAC 4755:2-1-04(C) an endorsement applicant who has been out of practice five or more years - defined as fewer than 500 practice hours in the prior five years - must either retake and pass the NPTE or complete an action plan approved by the physical therapy section. Note that the Ohio laws-and-rules examination is imposed by rule on licensure by EXAMINATION (OAC 4755:2-1-03(A)(2)); the endorsement rule does not itself impose it, so confirm with the Board whether the Ohio Jurisprudence Assessment Module is required on your endorsement application..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
This direction has a payoff. New Mexico is outside the active compact, so you have had no privileges to work with — but Ohio is an active member. Endorse into Ohio with the Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Athletic Trainers Board (OTPTAT Board) - Physical Therapy Section, establish it as your home state and primary residence, and Ohio becomes your springboard: from there you can buy compact privileges into every other active member state without another full license. Your NPTE score transfers through the FSBPT; you do not re-sit the exam.
What changes, New Mexico → Ohio
| New Mexico (current) | Ohio (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| PT Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | PT Compact member — multistate license honored |
| Application fee | $250 (non-refundable application for full licensure as a physical therapist under 16.20.5.8(A)(1) NMAC (PTA is $200). + a separate $25 jurisprudence exam fee per attempt under 16.20.5.8(C), and the applicant pays the NM Department of Public Safety background-check cost. Biennial renewal is $160. New Mexico is not a PT Compact state, so no privilege fee exists.) | $100 (OAC 4755-4-01(B)(1) (effective August 21, 2025) caps the initial licensing fee - the fee an endorsement applicant pays - at one hundred dollars, and states that the current amount is published on the Board's website. otptat.ohio.gov and codes.ohio.gov were unreachable from the research environment on 2026-08-07, so only the rule maximum is given rather than an unverified exact figure. Biennial renewal is likewise capped at $100. The BCI/FBI criminal records check is billed separately by the record providers. This is not the PT Compact privilege fee.) |
| Processing time | the board publishes no processing timeframe; it states only that background results arrive from the Department of Public Safety weekly and that an initial application stays valid for 12 months (16.20.3.8(J) NMAC) | Neither the Ohio Revised Code nor the Board's rules state a processing timeframe; OAC 4755:2-1-01(E) provides only that an application still incomplete one year after filing is abandoned. |
| Licensing authority | New Mexico Physical Therapy Board (Regulation and Licensing Department, Boards and Commissions Division) | Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Athletic Trainers Board (OTPTAT Board) - Physical Therapy Section |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Ohio sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Ohio's current requirements on the Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Athletic Trainers Board (OTPTAT Board) - Physical Therapy Section website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Athletic Trainers Board (OTPTAT Board) - Physical Therapy Section (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current physical therapist license in another state whose requirements the physical therapy section finds substantially similar under ORC 4796.03.
- Submit and electronically sign the application through eLicense Ohio with the fee prescribed by OAC 4755-4-01.
- Submit a criminal records check completed by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation that also requests FBI results; the report must be less than six months old when the Board receives it.
- If out of practice five or more years, retake and pass the NPTE or complete a Board-approved action plan.
- Complete the application within one year of filing, or it is treated as abandoned.
- Pay the fees ($100 (OAC 4755-4-01(B)(1) (effective August 21, 2025) caps the initial licensing fee - the fee an endorsement applicant pays - at one hundred dollars, and states that the current amount is published on the Board's website. otptat.ohio.gov and codes.ohio.gov were unreachable from the research environment on 2026-08-07, so only the rule maximum is given rather than an unverified exact figure. Biennial renewal is likewise capped at $100. The BCI/FBI criminal records check is billed separately by the record providers. This is not the PT Compact privilege fee.)) and allow Neither the Ohio Revised Code nor the Board's rules state a processing timeframe; OAC 4755:2-1-01(E) provides only that an application still incomplete one year after filing is abandoned..
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Ohio accept a New Mexico physical therapy license?
A physical therapy license transfers from New Mexico to Ohio by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Athletic Trainers Board (OTPTAT Board) - Physical Therapy Section, verify your New Mexico license, and meet Ohio's endorsement requirements. NPTE is not retaken for a routine transfer; FSBPT's Score Transfer Service sends the existing passing score to the physical therapy section. Ohio has one exception: under OAC 4755:2-1-04(C) an endorsement applicant who has been out of practice five or more years - defined as fewer than 500 practice hours in the prior five years - must either retake and pass the NPTE or complete an action plan approved by the physical therapy section. Note that the Ohio laws-and-rules examination is imposed by rule on licensure by EXAMINATION (OAC 4755:2-1-03(A)(2)); the endorsement rule does not itself impose it, so confirm with the Board whether the Ohio Jurisprudence Assessment Module is required on your endorsement application..
Do I retake the NPTE moving from New Mexico to Ohio?
No — the NPTE is taken once and your score transfers through the FSBPT. NPTE is not retaken for a routine transfer; FSBPT's Score Transfer Service sends the existing passing score to the physical therapy section. Ohio has one exception: under OAC 4755:2-1-04(C) an endorsement applicant who has been out of practice five or more years - defined as fewer than 500 practice hours in the prior five years - must either retake and pass the NPTE or complete an action plan approved by the physical therapy section. Note that the Ohio laws-and-rules examination is imposed by rule on licensure by EXAMINATION (OAC 4755:2-1-03(A)(2)); the endorsement rule does not itself impose it, so confirm with the Board whether the Ohio Jurisprudence Assessment Module is required on your endorsement application..
What does the move cost?
$100 (OAC 4755-4-01(B)(1) (effective August 21, 2025) caps the initial licensing fee - the fee an endorsement applicant pays - at one hundred dollars, and states that the current amount is published on the Board's website. otptat.ohio.gov and codes.ohio.gov were unreachable from the research environment on 2026-08-07, so only the rule maximum is given rather than an unverified exact figure. Biennial renewal is likewise capped at $100. The BCI/FBI criminal records check is billed separately by the record providers. This is not the PT Compact privilege fee.) (OAC 4755-4-01(B)(1) (effective August 21, 2025) caps the initial licensing fee - the fee an endorsement applicant pays - at one hundred dollars, and states that the current amount is published on the Board's website. otptat.ohio.gov and codes.ohio.gov were unreachable from the research environment on 2026-08-07, so only the rule maximum is given rather than an unverified exact figure. Biennial renewal is likewise capped at $100. The BCI/FBI criminal records check is billed separately by the record providers. This is not the PT Compact privilege fee.).
How long will it take?
Neither the Ohio Revised Code nor the Board's rules state a processing timeframe; OAC 4755:2-1-01(E) provides only that an application still incomplete one year after filing is abandoned. — Neither the Ohio Revised Code nor the Board's rules state a processing timeframe; OAC 4755:2-1-01(E) provides only that an application still incomplete one year after filing is abandoned..
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-07.
- Ohio OTPTAT Board - Physical Therapy Laws and Rules, effective April 3, 2026 (LSC-authenticated ORC and OAC text: OAC 4755:2-1-01, 4755:2-1-03, 4755:2-1-04, 4755-3-05, 4755-4-01, 4755-4-02) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- PT Compact - member state map ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- FSBPT - NPTE Score Transfer Service ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- 16.20.5.8 NMAC - Schedule of Fees, New Mexico Physical Therapy Board ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- 16.20.3 NMAC - Application for Licensure and Licensure by Reciprocity (16.20.3.8, 16.20.3.11) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- NM RLD Physical Therapy Board - Licensing, Registration and Renewal ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- NM RLD - Physical Therapist Application User Guide (reciprocity pre-screen, mandatory jurisprudence step) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-08-07
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